Back to it

I've finally got some time to work on the boat, so picking up where i left off in August......jesus wheres the year gone........anyway having wrestled the boat off the cradle like steve irwin with a crocadile it seemed fitting to try and finish the hull.

My start point to my embarrassment was the strips of gelcoat where the cradle endplates rested on the hull whilst it was obvious they needed cutting away and glassing in with the usual two layers of cloth and peel ply -  fairly straight forward but somehow in my haste to get the boats hull filled and faired i had forgot to join the three main panels together.

Having dug out the grinder i set about cutting into the fairing compound around the waterline to find where the bow section met the mid section met the stern section, i got all of them opened up and taped everything and then peel plied. All that was left was an 8' x 4' panel in the centre of the boats belly.

I never enjoy doing overhead work but the few panels i've done have largely succeeded by making the panels small so using the tube technique but on a larger scale i was amazed how easy it was to cover such a large area so quickly and against the forces of gravity, here take a look.

More sooner rather than later now i'm no longer living and working on the isle of wight.

Cheers roger

Now its time............

Having been granted a weeks leave from operation 'chaos' on Jekyll island (IOW) i thought it about time i grasp the thorny issue of getting the boat off of its cradle and onto the ground (or as close as possible).

Having performed David Blaine-esque feats on this project before with nothing more than a pallet truck, a cup of coffee and the look of a dinlow i thought to chance my arm one more time and do the job of raising some three tonnes of boat first up in the air balancing on four car jacks and then 'control' the descent to the floor minus the cradle.

It was during the early stages of jacking up each side that i remembered the mass of the keels is concentrated in the front half as the boat appeared to be taking a bow all be it very slowly but still a problem. My worse fears came to pass when with all four jacks pretty much at full extension the boat slowly started moving forward!

Whilst remaining calm i eased each jack a little but on seeing the boat moving ever closer to the front wall of the shed i panicked and opened the bleed screws on both jacks, with an almighty 'thud' the back of the boat landed back down on the sleepers, only now it was popping a wheelie. I got the bottle jack out of my van and hastily scribed a block of wood to the profile of the bow and chocked the front so it couldn't move.

At the end of the play yesterday i felt like i'd run a marathon, with the boat firmly on terrafirma i spent today boarding over the floor so i can get on glassing the hull.

roger

Rings around the world.

I hadn't realised blogger re-designed their admin software so you can now see from what countries people are viewing your site.

To my surprise this site is well known throughout the globe as far a field as South Korea and China but is most popular in the US, UK, France and interestingly Russia as well as a host of other EU countries. So with that in mind i have added a gadget that translates the site into 1 of 53 different languages.

Hope it helps...................

Oh yeah, nearly forgot i have finally got round to structurally securing the keels to the hull by taping each keel joint with three successively wider laminations (100mm, 200mm, 300mm) of bi-axial cloth. The keels now look moulded-in and will be interested to see how they perform when out on the water as to whether it goes some way to alleviating the stresses on that area of the boats structure.

Happy Holidays

Roger

Take a pebble

Had an away-day today as i needed a few things before i could do anymore work, principally the rudder is the centre of attention at the moment strange as its sat under the boat for the last two years since i built it.

Something the old man never did from day one was to replace the rudder bushes,  the original tufnol ones are looking more than a little secondhand so took the opportunity to visit Trafalgar Yacht Services near Portsmouth, very helpful people they were too.

After what seemed like an age i got the rudder dry-fitted to find the fit less than impressive and a little puzzling as i took the top angle of the blade directly from the original before butchering it for the rudder stock, an hour later and i had the rudder moving freely on its stock minus 10mm off the top of the blade.

Next i bonded the skeg on via an incredibly thick mix of wests and a couple of wedges, the positioning of which was done by eye as there is no other way, i'll finish 'bogging' it out tomorrow but other than that i'm very pleased with my new rudder

 

Welcome back my friends.

Good news i finally got two wheels on my wagon, what with the starboard keel going on a little under two hours ago, i can't quite believe i'll never have to haul the things up and down the driveway or around the garden - that is it they are on end of story.

Now i have achieved this i feel i can do anything so next stop rudder dry fitted so i can get the skeg mounted and then into the engine room to cut, shape and bond the bearers then get the engine in and fitted.

Its amazing how (although physically and mentally knackered) i'm really up for getting this boat done by years end - wish me luck.

cheers

rog

What a difference a week makes.

Incredible really, i've had one of those weeks where everything i've touched has turned to gold. At the start of the week i was finishing off the stub and putting another hit of fairing compound on the hull.

Afterwards i got set on getting the port keel into the shed although seeing the number of obstacles i had to get around to get the keel to this point was a task i was coming to dread.

To my surprise the keel went through the side of the shed a treat but no sooner had I surmounted that problem i was stuck as to how to line up the keel studs with the stub holes, after a quick phone call to a savvy mate of mine we had the keel located and in position within an hour.

The effect of all of this has been transformative for seeing just this one keel in place that has taken so much time and energy has motivated me beyond anything in recent times.

So much so that i'm now almost ready to fit the starboard keel later this week as i have worked all through the weekend and will sheath tomorrow (monday), this all in under 2 days from dragging it into the workshop to repair through stripping back ready for sheathing with all the materials for that job on the bench ready to go, the same process took about two weeks before.

Now i'm annoyed that paid work is getting in the way as i want to get the rudder dry-fitted next so i can mount the skeg and get that glassed in.
I think because i spent so much time and energy last year on the boat and didn't have a lot to show for it was really uninspiring to me but now I couldn’t be more juiced-up.

Cheers

Where does all the time go..........

I can't believe we're nearly into April, although the paid work i have at the moment has paused temporarily i'm dedicating this week to the boat.

It seems only yesterday i was sheathing the keels happily unemployed planning on having the boat off the cradle with both keels and a rudder attached but alas work's got in the way and after what seems like an eternity i am now able to get on with finishing the job of sheathing the hull.

As usual the debit card's taken a hammering but as i have a few pennies to rub together i want to push on as i don't want to miss the weather window for paint this year.

What else..............oh yes i finally picked up my 30st antal winches as well as another pair of 16's, i'll flog the 8's on ebay but what a bargain. Those guys at marineware are 'tops' i used them as well for my keel sealant as i just can't bring myself to spend in excess of £250 going the sika route.

I'll let you know how it goes when the time comes but for now its on with finishing off the sheathing.

cheers

rog